Canis, Verdicit
by infractus monumentum
Summary: She talks to animals, and he -is- one. --Rating for later content.--


Canis, Videlicit

Twilight

infractus monomentum

_she talks to animals, and he __**is**__ one._

[insert nifty little divider here.]

"This place sure is a tiny little family home, mother." Her voice was bored, a slight English drawl aiding the sarcasm. Viridian hues gazed – unimpressed – at the empty rooms of the old Cullen house. At an impressive six feet tall, Veritas Caduto had a basketball player's figure - a lightly muscled body, and proportionate curves. She wore a pair of clingy black jeans, and a white tunic top with golden butterflies that seemed almost to blend with the white hair that fell in unruly, short spikes all over her head. With a small, discontented sigh, she dropped her backpack on the empty floor, and tossed a look over her shoulder, regarding her mother with disinterest. "Which floor again?"

"Third. The old owner of the house originally had two rooms and bathrooms up there, but," a pause as some things were set on a table, "I thought you would prefer having your own floor, so we knocked down the other room's walls, made it one big room, and lengthened the bathroom appropriately." Marilyn Caduto had a thicker accent than her daughter, and it was obvious she had been born overseas. What she didn't have though was her daughter's height, as the woman was a good foot and a half shorter than Veritas, with chestnut coloured hair, and stormy blue eyes.

Behind her mother, two boys jostled, carrying boxes of varied size. As the shortest one dropped something, Veritas snorted contemptuously and turned her back – heading up the stairs.

"But if you prefer a room on the second floor, I'm sure Thomas and Everett would prefer having the big room to themselves, instead of the one they'll be splitting now."

"Yeah, whatever." She just waved a hand flippantly as she disappeared upstairs. Climbing the two sets of stairs she was confronted with, she came upon the lone hallway on the third floor, still unimpressed with the mansion as she saw it. One thing did catch her interest, though – to her right, the entire wall was glass, offering a beautiful view of the countryside in the area. "Hmm." Walking forward, she opened the door – stopping dead as she looked at the room – no, the entire _floor_ – that her mother had said was hers. The walls were dark green, with a border of pale green leaves, and small crimson and black flowers. As she preferred it, her bed was a large futon mattress on the floor, sitting on top of pale tatami mats. The rest of the carpeting was slate grey, which matched the blankets on the futon. She entered the room, looking around the corner, noting the setup as the place where the walls had been before. A large, wall-mounted flatscreen faced her, and attached to it were her gaming systems, a DVD player, and a cable box.

About seven feet from that was an inexplicably large, round beanbag. In the center of the designated couch was a large black Great Dane, currently asleep. _Thank the gods for small favors, she remembered Reproba._ She chuckled, and the sound woke the animal up. Executing a rather large stretch, the dog bounded over to the girl, leaping up and placing it's two front paws on her shoulders.

**I don't like the cage they put me in. It smelled bad, and I couldn't go to the bathroom.**

"I'm sure you survived though, Rep. You have that tendency." The girl smiled, hugging her dog, before gently removing his paws, and letting him drop back to the floor.

**And then your mother had some weird people pick me up, and take me here, and I was all alone.**

"Well, I'm here now, so you don't have to worry about it. I'm staying in this room, so I'll go downstairs and get you some food. Did they already put my clothes in the closet?"

**Yes, but why is my bed in the middle of the room?**

"Apparently, they thought it was the couch that belonged in front of the games. And you know what? I like it. So you're going to be splitting it with me. It leaves the room far more open." She waved her hand, indicating the spacious interior.

**Fine.**

If dogs could pout, she had no doubt that Reproba would be sniffling and everything, the works. "Don't be too put out by it; I'll eventually get a folding futon, or something." With those as her last words, she returned downstairs, entering the living room just as her mother did. Instantly, her guard returned – and she became outwardly cold again.

"You like everything, V?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Reproba is hungry. No doubt Molotov and Baryshnikov are, as well. Has Thomas fed Aether, today? She was on the planes with us – she's probably starving as well."

Her mother cocked a small half-smile, shaking her head amazedly. "Haven't even been here for fifteen minutes, and you're already playing animal activist."

"Mother – I bet I would forget about them as easily as the rest of you if I only had to deal with puppy dog _eyes_, as opposed to puppy dog _voices._" She scoffed, and walked away – heading towards the kitchen.

**I don't appreciate the generality of that statement, madame. **A distinctively female voice entered her head as she entered the swinging door of the kitchen. On the counter sat a beautifully coloured Siamese cat, one paw being meticulously cleaned as she peered out with her one open eye at Veritas.

"Sorry, Ae – puppy dog voices, and kitty cat bitching." The human girl smirked.

**I don't like that one either – even though I am the only female animal in attendance in this household, I am **_**not**_** a bitch. **

"I know you would prefer being called a queen all the time, but despite your name, you're pretty plain as far as cats go." Veritas moved towards the fridge, reaching out with a tanned hand to pull it open. Rummaging around for a bit before she pulled out a can of salmon and three packages of cooked beef.

**I'd rather have chicken**.

"Of course you would, but you're getting salmon. If you don't eat it, you'll starve – and we'll save more money next year." She pulled the tab on the can, opening it up and placing it in front of the cat. "when you're done, you know the routine. Trash can's directly beneath you."

**Yes, and the floor's right next to that.**

"There's a Chinese store somewhere in town, don't make me angry." Smirking at the way the cat's eyes had widened ever-so-slightly, she pushed open the swinging door with her hip, exiting into the living room, and from there, the back yard.

_**Sam, a girl has come onto the back porch, should I leave?**_ An smooth, unknown voice assailed her mind, and she dropped the packages of meat, staring with wild eyes into the forestry around her house, trying to find the animal that had thought it.

_**Is she human?**_ Another voice, fainter, emerged into her head in response to the first.

_**Smells like it. Then again, there's a residual leech smell everywhere. But she smells clean. Well, like a house dog, sorta. But clean, so yeah, human.**_ She scrunched her nose, slightly offended. "I do not smell like a dog."

_**Did she hear me?**_ The voice in her head, appropriately identified as a male, seemed utterly confused. Deciding to ignore the voices (she was rather pissed at being accused of smelling like Reproba) she whistled, calling for the German Shepards, Molotov and Baryshnikov.

_**Jacob? **_Again, the faint voice touched her head.

_**I dunno, for a second I thought that she said "I don't smell like a dog.", but she couldn't have heard me, because I didn't say anything right. I must be hearing things. I'm heading home.**_

_**See you soon, then.**_

_Jacob? That's an odd name for an animal…_ Putting it out of her mind (for now) she instead opened up a package of meat, waving it around in the air to waft the smell before whistling again. "If one of you doesn't show up in the next two seconds, I'm going to feed it all to Reproba, and then you're gonna be screwed!"

Insantly, two white dogs bounded around the corner.

**Food! Foooooood!**

"You know, I hate when you two think in unison like that. It's rather overwhelming." Forcing her face into a small, fake frown, she tossed down the two packages. "Trash afterwards, not all over the yard."

**Yeah, yeah.**

**We just wanted food.**

"Let me mention now, I hate twins." Acting miffed, she turned, re-entering the house.

"Guard dogs fed?" Her mother lounged on the couch, reading a book.

"Like they actually _guard_ anything other than each other?" she rolled her eyes. "Yeah. I'm going to go feed Reproba."

"Okay. After that, we can go down to Olympia and pick a car for you."

"I know what I want."

"Honey, you know a Jeep is too expensive…"

"Then I'll just fix the one in the shed."

"But it's so large…" she stopped with the 'no, _duh_' look her daughter gave her. "I'll talk to a mechanic tomorrow.

"I took shop in school for a reason. I'm going to head out to the shed and see if there's any tools." She started going that way when she heard the heavy padding of her dog on the stairs. "Oh, shi-" She turned, acting as if she had been heading towards him the whole time, passing her mother, who was laughing into her cupped hand.

**You forgot me.**

"I didn't forget you, I just got distracted."

**You forgot me.**

"…Ah, shut up and take this upstairs. I'm going to try and fix a car so I can go to school tomorrow."

**I still can't believe you fed **_**them**_**, and forgot **_**me.**_

"…Shoo." With a dismissive pat on his rump, she dashed outside.

-

"I think I'm in love." She was talking to herself at this point, but hey, who cares? She stared with wide eyes at the large, impressive vehicle before her. "Is this thing even broken down? It came free with the house, but it looks like it's all intact."

Reaching up, she climbed in, marveling at the six-point harness that was the seatbelt, and the staggering feel of power as she held onto the wheel. "Damn, the keys are even in the ignition. The Cullen people must have left in a hurry... Or, it could just be a clunker, and I'll have to get under the hood and do stuff. Who knows?" Cautiously (lest the thing blow up on her) she turned the keys, the engine growling hungrily to life.

"Whooo! It's a_live_!" She cackled, smacking the steering wheel rapidly in frantic joy. Pulling on her seatbelt, she put it in drive, moving out of the shed with ease, and driving across the lawn to park next to her mother's sensible van. In answer to the engine's noises, loud barking was heard from the back yard and her balcony, and it didn't take long for Molotov and Baryshnikov to tear around the corner, Reproba a few moments behind.

**Ride?**

The dogs' thought was in perfect harmony, all three staring up at her expectantly.

Marilyn exited the front door, staring in amusement at the dogs staring at her daughter. "they expecting something?"

"They want a ride. The La Push beach is pet friendly – at least, Chief Swan said so." Even though the cop _did_ make a face when she specifically asked if dogs were allowed in the reservation. And his fiancée, Sue Clearwater, had choked on her water…

"That's fine." She smiled.

"Thanks. Load up, dorks." She motioned at the dogs, who had absolutely no need for a second call, and all three bounded in. Reproba took shotgun, and the twins sat in the back.

"Try not to lose any of them."

" I won't." Smiling, she put the Jeep back in gear, and took off down the driveway.

**You are completely forgiven for forgetting me.**

**RIDE!!**

-

"Yes, mother, we're all unpacked. The house is grand, I wish you could see it. No, neither of the boys has fallen down the stairs, and no – Veritas hasn't locked herself in her room with her video games. Actually, she and the dogs are on the Indian reservation nearby, at the beach. I know – I was surprised too. No, she really hasn't been the same since Jack died, but I think this place will be good for her. Yes, she still has her 'gift'. I know, mum, I'll let her know not to waste it. Alright. Love you too." Marilyn hung up the phone, ignoring the prick in her chest. She was used to it, it had happened every time in the past four months when her late husband was mentioned.

_-_

_Veritas sat in front of a cake, patiently watching the large numbered candles. "Mom, when's he gonna be home? I want to light them."_

"_I know, honey, but we have to wait. He just picked up the boys. He should have been here a few minutes ago, but maybe he stopped for something?"_

_And the phone began to ring._

-

"_Daddy…?" Her voice was small, and her eyes were huge – and threatening to overflow as she saw her father lying in the hospital bed._

_-_

"_Thom, Ev! Cut it out! You're going to break her present!" Jack Carduto yelled at the boys from the front seat, looking in the rearview mirror to see his two sons pushing at each other around a large computer box._

"_Dad, watch out!"_

_He didn't have time to brake as he looked forward and watched the semi in front of him come up quickly._

_-_

_Her brothers had gotten away with cuts, bruises, and nightmares. _

_-_

_Her father had lost his life._

_-_

_On the table at home, a cake sat, abandoned. On top, two large wax candles proudly proclaimed 18._

-

**Note: **Okay, so, if it wasn't apparent – plain bold is the animal's 'thoughts', and italicized bold are the werewolves'. Regular italicized are regular thoughts, and underlined italics are flashbacks.

This story was a random thought that came into my head. Yes, it's going to eventually be a Jacob/OC, somewhere down the line. I'm still toying with the idea of exactly what boundaries her gift can cross. I really don't think it'll be much, I have her character rather fleshed out with what she has now.

As for names:

Veritas: (Latin) Truth.

Reproba: (Latin) Falsehood. (lie)

Aether: the name of the air the gods breathe, as opposed to the air mortals breathe.

Molotov: look up Molotov cocktails.

Baryshnikov: reference to the rifle, not the dancer/artist/whatever.

Mol/Bary – guard dogs, so I figured weapons names would be fun.

And the title translates to:

Canis: Dogs

Videlicit: of course [sarcastic]

Dogs, of course. –eye twitch-

That's the feel it's supposed to be.

And yes, it's a quote later. I already have that scene fleshed out in my head. –dances at the ohsomuchfunness that's coming.-

Yay for Latin sarcasm!


End file.
